I'm at a bit of a loss for words here. My first full-length album, "Wordplay," is finally out and available for you to hear. I've already posted quite a bit about it so I'm not going to go on and on and on too much in this post, but again, I just want you all to know how proud I am of this release and how much I just want everyone to take a listen. So just for good measure, I've made it available in a variety of places! You choose your poison — it doesn't matter to me how you hear it :)

Many, many thanks again to everyone who made this possible. And also, many, many more thanks to everyone who helped make the CD release show last week a HUGE SMASHING AWESOME SUCCESS! I had a great time and was very pleased to see so many smiling faces. As I've said before, your support and enjoyment is what keeps me going. Here's a great pic from the show, courtesy of my friend Jess Cosca:

Just look at those goofy guys. We were having a blast, but more importantly, so was the crowd!

The exciting news just keeps on coming! "Wordplay" CDs are in, and they look FAN TAS TIC. The album art was masterfully executed by Philly's own braverbeast, who has been making equally awesome promo art and such for several of my friends in the area for some time now. Simply put, she's great. Just check it out:

And hey, what's this, you can pre-order the album RIGHT NOW on Bandcamp! Order today and download "Little Computer People" immediately. Or, be among the first to have the actual, real, physical CD (which I will be mailing out starting early next week).

ALSO, if you see this message before 10pm on Wednesday, Dec. 17, tune in to DJ Cutman's This Week In Chiptune to hear me talk about the album and debut a few tracks. It's your first chance to hear this stuff, and I can't wait!

And again, don't forget to RSVP for the album release show!! DEC. 19 @ UNDERGROUND ARTS IN PHILLY!! An awesome solo Game Boy set from an0va; spectacular jammed-out VGM tunes from Chronicles of Sound; rockin' grungy electro jams from The Blurry Nights; and even a super rare reunion of my old band, MJ Project. Why, WHY, WHYYYY would you miss this?

Also, read more about the album here, see the full track listing here, and check out the official "Little Computer People" video here.

I'm so excited and honored to present the official video for "Little Computer People" today! From the brilliant mind of animator and director Zach Cohen (who is also doing the animation for EarthNight), the video is an incredible cartoon romp through the wacky world of Powaman, an arcade-addicted, questionably super superhero. And even though you might think you recognize the song from my "3P" release earlier this year, think again! This never-before-released full-band version is the first official track release from "Wordplay," which — DON'T FORGET!! — is out Dec. 19. Check it out!

And hey, if you just want to hear and share the audio, you can also stream the song on Soundcloud!

The hype continues to build!! I'm super stoked to reveal the 11-track listing for "Wordplay," which, if you haven't already heard, is out DEC. 19, complete with a release show party!!

As you look over this list, you might recognize some/all of these tracks from my live sets over the past few years. Yes! Accurate. And much of this stuff was meant to be played and enjoyed in a live context, with or without additional instrumentation. You might also recognize two songs from earlier releases. ("Truce" and "Little Computer People" both appear on "3P," and a verrrrry early, very old version of "Monkey Torture" was once available on my *shudder* Myspace page.) But with this album, you'll finally get the definitive studio recordings, with extra instrumentation and a specific flow that I've designed in an attempt to make this more than just a collection of a few instrumental songs. Anyway, here are the tracks!

"WORDPLAY" WILL BE RELEASED 12/19/2014!! RELEASE PARTY SAME DAY!! – 11/12/14, 3:03 pm

For, I dunno, the past two years or so, I've been talking about the new album I've been working on. I had always envisioned it to be a full-length, full-"band" effort, with additional instruments on top of the Game Boy sounds you all know from my existing recorded material. "3P" featured a little bit of extra instrumentation, but it was still all basically done at home on a small scale. And you've probably seen me play some guitar live over the past few years, but you could never enjoy it at home, save a few shaky Youtube videos.

All that is going to change with my new album, "Wordplay." And I'm thrilled to announce that it will be available, in all of its guitar-drenched, drum-soaked, 11-track glory, on Dec. 19, 2014, complete with a CD Release Party show in Philly that very night!!

More than a year in the making, "Wordplay" (which will be available for the first time at the show and digitally the same day) is a sonic evolution for me. Guitars, drums, bass and more blend seamlessly with rich 8-bit sounds to create a genre-defying, truly unique musical experience. And now, you can have it at home!!

I gotta give supreme mad props to several people who made "Wordplay" possible: Dino Lionetti, for his tireless and obsessive recording, production, and editing skills; Josh Steingard, for his absolutely mind-blowing drumming; Chris Burke, for his masterful mastering; braverbeast, for her unreal album art; Rich Siegel, for his incredible support; and so many more others to be named later.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be releasing more information about the album — track listing, preview clips, full song(s?), more(?!). But first, mark your calendars for Friday, Dec. 19, and come to the "Wordplay" release show in the Black Box at Underground Arts in Philly. In addition to planning a full set with my stellar drummer, Josh Steingard, myself, I've come up with a bill that is, in some ways, a dream come true for me. First, an0va will be coming back up to Philly to kick off the night with a special Game Boy-only, dance-centric set! Next, Chronicles of Sound will take the stage with their special blend of live jamming, electronica and video-game-inspired musical mastery. After that, my really amazing and awesome old friends and former MJ Project bandmates The Blurry Nights will perform their own unique, danceable grunge-tronica tunes. Check out their Soundcloud to hear some of their great songs, including "Beekeeper," for which I provided original Game Boy parts.

So yeah, seriously killer lineup, huh?? I'm truly and honestly honored to be joined by all of these guys, some of my closest musical friends, who will be performing a variety of styles at the show. Great music, great musicians and a great special occasion — it's an event you won't want to miss! More album details soon...

New EP, "3P," released TODAY! EarthNight to be showcased by SONY at E3! – 06/04/14, 1:01 pm

FINALLY. THE DAY HAS COME. NEW ORIGINAL OFFICIAL CHIPOCRITE MUSIC!!!! Here it is! Hear it now! "3P," a new three-song EP showcasing some of my upcoming soundtrack work and more!

But the context of this exciting announcement is even MORE exciting within itself. You see, it all started a while back, when I began working with my good friends at Cleaversoft to compose a soundtrack for a game they were developing, known at the time as "Dragon Runner." The game had promise from the get-go, and we received exciting and super-positive feedback every time we showed off early builds at conventions and expos, but I don't think any of us were expecting it when Sony contacted us a few months ago and expressed interest in porting the game for PS4. Here we are today, with the game now known as "EarthNight," and we've just announced on this official Playstation blog that we'll not only be on that system and Vita sometime next year, we're going to be showcased at Sony's booth at this year's E3 NEXT WEEK!!! If you'll be there, please stop by and check out the game!!

So, to tie it back into my new music: There's a ways to go before the final game and soundtrack are released, but to celebrate this good news, I've put out a three-song EP ("3P") TODAY featuring some of my stuff from the game and also serving as a preview of "Wordplay," my upcoming full-length album (which I promise you is verrrrry much coming along and sounding great!!). Visit my Bandcamp to check it out!

As you probably know, this is the first official new original Chipocrite release in quite some time. It's also my first release to feature guitar, bass and other instrumentation beyond just Game Boys (only on "Truce," but it's a nice taste of what to expect in the future). I hope you enjoy it and are looking forward to these great awesome things as much as I am!! Thanks in advance for your support!!!

And hey, while you're at it, check out this awesome trailer for EarthNight:

(And yes, "Little Computer People" is on this EP, and yes, it will be both in the game AND on my next album in some form... ‪#‎conceptualcontinuity‬)

I'm not even sure if the wordplay I was going for in that headline makes any sense to anyone except me. Oh well. This is my site, I'll do what I want. NO APOLOGIES!!!

(Sorry for yelling)

Anyway, I hope you all had magnificent holiday seasons, filled with good people (and good loot). You may have noticed that in between slowly reestablishing myself back in Philly permanently, I've been playing several shows (both solo and with Cheap Dinosaurs) and, yes, working on new music!! If you heard me announce it at MAGFest (which was legendary, as always), you already know that I have PROMISED new original music in 2014. Mark my words. I've already finished a relatively fully-formed, homemade demo version of my next release, more-than-tentatively-titled "Wordplay" (no joke!), complete with guitar and bass tracks, and I'm scheduling time to head into the REAL studio to make it all sound really niceeee. And also to add real drums! It's going to be a treat, I promise, and I'll get it all done ASAP, I also promise. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled.. Maybe I'll "leak" some of those demos every once in a while, I dunno! What I do know is... exciting times ahead!!

Also in the meantime, perhaps this brand new Cheap Dinosaurs album will hold you over!! I played bass on all of it, and we're super duper proud of it. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more show dates, album updates, and more. Thanks, as always, for all the support!

I hear it's FANTASY MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONTH!!!!!! – 11/06/13, 5:05 pm

Hey everyone — I just wanted to give a shout-out to all the people who might be visiting after hearing my silly lil' "Game Of Thrones" cover in an episode of the Continue? show this month. I can't help but notice that every November, I get a sweet lil' spike in visitors. Why, it must be because, as we all know, November is...

Anyway, if you want to download the GoT cover FOR FREE, RIGHT NOW, visit the Media page; you can find it in the "Songs" section, along with a bunch of other fun things. And speaking of fun things, if you're into weird, pop-culturey stuff like Game Boy covers of TV themes, you might also enjoy my 8-Bit Lebowski tribute... Visit my Bandcamp page to purchase, or stream it right here:

Sorry if it seems like I haven't updated the news on this page in a while. It certainly wasn't for a lack of things to talk about — I just wanted to keep the Lebowski announcement at the top. But with a slew of upcoming shows to announce, I figured it was time to highlight some of this exciting stuff! (And in case you wanted to hear it anyway, I did keep the Lebowski player at the top... See what I did there?!)

All dates, addresses and such can be found in the sidebar to the right on this page!

Anyway, it's hard to say what's biggest, but the first thing I want to highlight is the 8static Festival, which is going to be an epic, three-day marathon celebrating 8static's fifth anniversary as Philly's monthly chiptune concert and all-around showcase of awesomeness. The line-up is already legendary, featuring an impressive variety of rare performers, retirees returning to the stage, and timeless favorites — and I am beyond honored to be a part of it. Too many amazing artists to mention! It's going to be a memorable and spectacular event either way, but if you have the means and would like to contribute to making it even more super special, please donate to our Kickstarter!! As of this posting, we're almost there, but we still need your help. Thanx!!!

In other news, conventions, conventions, conventions!! In just a few weeks, I'll be doing the old "panel plus performance" thing at RVACON, a new event in Richmond, VA, shaping up to be a pretty sweet celebration of nerd-dom and related nerdiness. And I'm thrilled to announce that I'll again be a part of this year's chiptune lineup at MAGFest 12, the renowned weekend-long video game and music party in National Harbor, MD. I promise surprises and amazingness for all who attend! Seriously cannot wait. Stay tuned for more details!

Finally, but certainly no less significantly, I also seriously cannot wait to open for Peelander-Z at Strange Matter in Richmond. Anyone who was at the show I played there with Anamanaguchi in July knows just how fantastic this place is, and how great that show was, so let's do it again! Get your tickets in advance here!

And in other news, NEW MUSIC. I promise you I've got totally fresh original stuff in the works, and I expect to have it to you very very soon. Just finishing up some Game Boy programming, then gotta record it all.. It's gonna sound great, I promise. STAY TUNED for that, and in the meantime, see you at one/some/ALL of these shows!

I'm super excited to be putting out new music!! This fun collection of covers from one of my favorite movies oughta hold you all over 'til I get out some fresh originals. (Soon enough, friends, soon!) In the meantime, I hope you abide.

"8-Bit Lebowski: 100% Electronic” is a tribute to several seemingly unrelated entities that are, individually, quite important to me: chip music, one of the greatest films of all time, White Russians, flamenco re-arrangements of classic rock tunes, fake pornos, Kenny Rogers, and so much more. Although I originally performed these songs as a one-off live set at Lebowski Fest Philadelphia 2011, I quickly realized that taken as a whole, they actually make up quite a comprehensive little release. I feel like it really ties my discography together.

So, in honor of the movie's 15th anniversary (the very date of this EP's release!), here you have it, to listen at your own leisure, whether through your car’s tape deck (provided it’s not stolen), with your significant other (provided she’s not kidnapped) or during a chilled-out rug meditation session (provided the rug, also, is not stolen). Best of all, it’s not, ugh, techno-pop.

Entirely arranged for one Game Boy running LSDJ, “8-Bit Lebowski” is dedicated to all the Achievers out there who have faith that the bums DON’T always lose. Please, enjoy it, down through the generations, westward the wagons, across the sands of time until we — aw, look at me, I’m rambling again. I hope you abide.

This album contains six licensed cover songs, including:
"Tumbling Tumbleweeds" by Sons of the Pioneers
"The Man In Me" by Bob Dylan
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Traffic Boom" by Piero Piccioni
"Hotel California" by The Gipsy Kings
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

Arranged and Recorded by Chipocrite
Produced and Mastered by Chris Davidson
Artwork by Batsly Adams and Alex Baderian

Upcoming Shows

FREE show!! Come see some great live music and learn about a ton of local organizations at this great county 4-H fair. Visit the event's website to learn more!

Date:
09/19/2015

Venue:
A Video Game Con 2015

Address:
33 Baldwin Road

City:
Parsippany, NJ

Details:

I'll be playing a full hour-long set at this first-year convention in North Jersey. AVGC is a celebration of both retro and modern video games, featuring free-play games, cosplay contests, musical performances, vendors, and much more! More info coming soon, but visit the event's official page and Facebook event page for registration info, etc., as it becomes available. Also, please check out the AVGC Kickstarter to help make the show awesome.

About Chipocrite

Chipocrite, a.k.a. Paul Weinstein, uses original Nintendo Game Boys, often accompanied by bass, guitar and/or other lo-fi sequencers, to create complex audio masterpieces. His multifaceted but catchy compositions combine the nostalgic game sounds of his childhood with modern music influences.

Since emerging from the Philadelphia chip scene just a few years ago, Chipocrite has taken the stage at numerous performance spaces, events and conventions, including the Vans Warped Tour, Blip Festival, MAGFest and AnimeNEXT; provided soundtracks for commercials — including a nationally televised GameStop ad — as well as video games and online videos; released "Hit and Run", which was named “Best Album – Chiptune” in Square Enix Music Online's Annual Game Music Awards for 2011; appeared as the musical guest on popular tech-centric Web talk-show series “On The Verge” — and much more. To learn more, visit the Media and Portfolio pages. Thanks for visiting!